Kate Walker: This and that

Life has been rather hectic and a bit fraught lately so I've been very bad at keeping up with my blog. But I'm trying to add some posts that will wake this place up a bit and let you know I'm still alive.

One of the things I should have mentioned is that I've been asked a lot about the teaching and the courses I'll be running in the rest of this year. So the next one coming up is The Complete Romance Writing Course which is in one of my most favourite places in the country and one of my favourite events in the whole year.

This of course is the Writers' Holiday in Fishguard in Pembrokeshire Wales. As so many of you know, this is one of the highlights of my summer for the past 15+ years . So I'm counting down t

he days before I go back to Fishguard in July. As always I will get to meet up again with old friends and hope to make new ones with the visitors who have never been before, I know some people are nervous about being there on their own - but believe me, you won't stay on your own for very long. Everyone is so welcoming, and the wonderful< Anne and Gerry Hobbs make sure that things run as smoothly as possible all week.

There are always such great courses too - I'm always really sorry that I'm teaching for oe part of the week, so that I can only choose from the first set of courses when there are so many that I'd love to do.

Here's this year's selection:

1. Writerly Desire

CAROL FENLON
The ins and outs of writing great sex scenes

Is the thought of your characters’ sex lives too hot to handle? Do you always stop at the bedroom door? Shed your inhibitions as we explore ways to write effective and relevant sex scenes. the focus of the course will be on incorporating sex scenes in a variety of genres tailored to specific readerships, rather than on erotica perse. Suggestions from course participants for specific genres to be covered are welcome.

2. Write a Short Story at Fishguard

DELLA GALTON
Sell it when you get home

This course is a practical course which will take you through writing a short story from Idea to completion. To get the most from this course you will need to do some homework during the week. But you should be able to go away with a completed short story and have some idea where to sell it.

3. Writing the Landscape

SIMON WHALEY

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, the landscape around us influences our work, both directly and indirectly. But do we really notice it? This course will show you how to spot detail in the landscape and then bring it to life in your writing. Discover how to turn any interaction with the landscape into a self-contained piece… and be prepared to stretch your legs at some point, because if the weather is good we may go for a wander.

4. Poetry for All

JAMES NASH
Everything you need to know to produce stunning poems in traditional and contemporary forms.
Anyone can write a poem. James will ensure that you can do it with skill and flair!

5. Painting and Drawing

SUSAN ALISON

You can now spend all day Painting and Drawing – either all the week, or just half of the week. Demonstrations of technique will take place in the mornings, and afternoons can be spent out and about if the weather is fine, or in the Art Room with subjects and materials provided.

6. Make ’em laugh: Writing Humour

STEVE WADE

Ever wanted to write humour? Hit that funny bone with Steve Wade.

7. The Complete ROMANCE Writing Course

KATE WALKER

This course is intended to provide information and advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write a popular romance genre novel. It gives an introduction to all the skills needed for success, from creating realistic characters, sustaining pace and conflict, packing emotional punch, writing sex scenes and crafting a satisfying ending. While the focus may be on romance novels, the techniques – dialogue, characters, tension, pacing, settings, hooks etc. will also be relevant to all

forms of popular fiction.

8. The Absolutely Complete Course on Writing Crime Fiction

JANET LAURENCE and SUSAN MOODY
Two experienced crime writers will combine to deliver a course which will be tailored to provide you with everything you need to write your own crime novel or crime short story.

9. All you ever wanted to know about Writing Competitions

ALISON CHISOLM
Whether entering or running one
Competitions are the pathway to increasing your writing experience and to getting your work published. Among the areas to be covered are:

The writing competition scene
How to select the competitions to enter
Competition stories and novels
Competition articles and poems
Preparing your entry
The judging process
Running a competition

10. Painting and Drawing

SUSAN ALISON
www.susanalison.com
You can now spend all day Painting and Drawing – either all the week, or just half of the week. Demonstrations of technique will take place in the mornings, and afternoons can be spent out and about if the weather is fine, or in the Art Room with subjects and materials provided.

As always, you can find the details and ask about availability for rooms in the hotel (or as a day visitor) at the Writers' Holiday site

Book now while there is still room!
Incidentally, if you want a bit more information about Fishguard, take a look at the current People's Friend - there's a great article in there by one of this year's tutors Simon Whaley